A New York woman who no longer drives has received thousands of dollars in traffic tickets because her license plate matched the famous tags from the Star Trek ship.
Beda Koorey, 76, sold her car and surrendered her license plates in 2020 after she started to lose her eyesight, reported News 12 Long Island.
Despite giving the plates up, she has been fined thousands of dollars over the last four years because of drivers across the country wearing vanity plates that match hers – NCC 1701 – the famous numbers on starship Enterprise.
Koorey has received tickets from across the country and Canada because Trekkies continue to purchase vanity plates online.
‘I can’t even sleep. All I see are tickets with cars with my plates on them. This is making me sick every single day,’ she said.
The grandmother said she has racked up nearly $17,000 in tickets over red light, speeding, parking, school zone and EZ pass fines.
‘I got a phone call from Ohio, a police chief looking for plates because they were involved in a robbery,’ Koorey told CBS News.
Koorey said she can’t seem to escape the plate that was picked by her ex-husband who loved the show.
Beda Koorey, 76, has been fined thousands of dollars over the last four years because of Star Trek fans
She has been fined thousands of dollars over the last four years because of drivers across the country wearing vanity plates that match hers – NCC 1701
‘It all comes back to me, so the whole country has my name and address for tickets I don’t even owe,’ she said. ‘I can’t afford it. I’m on a fixed income.’
‘That wasn’t me. That’s not my car. I don’t have a car. The mailman comes. I go, “Here comes another ticket.” I’m getting phone calls from all over the country.’
Attorney Kenneth Mollins found that Koorey’s information was still attached to the plates even though the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) claimed it was disconnected.
‘I’m blaming the Department of Motor Vehicles because when these people are inputting those plates, it’s coming back to me,’ Koorey said.
‘I want to cry because it’s a simple matter that they could have fixed.’
Koorey received a ticket from Virginia Beach and police department told News 12 it uses state-specific DMV details to identify the registered owner.
The DMV told the local news station is committed to helping the elderly woman and said that want to help prevent people from receiving tickets they did not cause.
‘If law enforcement agencies or other billing authorities have specific information that they believe ties Ms. Koorey to this plate, we would very much like to see what they are seeing, so we may determine where the discrepancy lies,’ the agency said.
Koorey’s ex-husband picked the license plate that matches the famous numbers on starship Enterprise
Although it is illegal to sell vanity plates in New York, reports show that online retailers such as Amazon have the novelty items with pre-drilled holes for sale
‘Our review of her record makes it clear that those plates were surrendered to the New York State DMV more than four years ago, and she was given a certified document to prove it.’
Mollins worked to have Koorey’s 194 New York City tickets dismissed and is continuing to battle her hundreds of summonses from 23 other states.
Although it is illegal to sell vanity plates in New York, reports show that online retailers such as Amazon have the novelty items with pre-drilled holes for sale.
